Most of this Alaska Road Trip Packing List consists of vehicle repair tools, but there might be a few surprises on this list too. When you’re traveling in Alaska, Yukon, and northern British Columbia, there are times where you can be 100+ miles from the nearest auto or tire repair. This is especially important if you’re planning on doing one of the more remote, gravel roads like the road to Canada’s Grand Canyon, the Denali Highway, the road to McCarthy and Kennecott, or the Dempster Highway. While I still like using paper maps, and these maps are plentiful at visitor centers, I found using the free maps.me app, downloading the areas of travel before the trip, was invaluable in locating parks, campgrounds, specific roads, etc.

Grand Tetons National Park, or the under-visited Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, is to visit the Bighorn Medicine Wheel, high up on a mountain on the western side of the Bighorn Mountains. There’s a great interpretive sign placed by Bighorn National Forest along highway 14A which has a good description: Medicine Mountain to your left, was named for the Medicine Wheel, a stone circle that lies atop a ridge below its summit. If you are physically unable to do the hike, it’s possible to lift the gate and drive on the single lane road up to the handicap parking. Catch a movie at the retro cinema if you can and don’t miss a spectacular visit to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

While Yellowstone gets over 4,000,000 visitors per year, it’s shocking that Bighorn Canyon gets only 250,000 visitors, given the close proximity to Yellowstone. This trip was sponsored by Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area/NPS, Crow Tribe and Visit Southeast Montana. While the south end of the park is good for bighorn sheep and mustang viewing, the north is good for bear viewing. If camping, the Afterbay Campground is part of the National Park Service and is located on either side of the Bighorn Canyon between Fort Smith and the Yellowtail Dam.

The Alvord Desert is an otherworldly land located in southeast Oregon, at the base of the Steen Mountains, and down a nearly 60-mile long gravel road that connects a handful of ranches to the rest of Oregon. There is a single road that can be taken to the desert and hot springs, the Fields-Denio Road which runs from southwest to northeast, between Oregon Highways 205 (junction near Fields, OR) and 78. It’s not possible to drive on the playa when it is wet, so it’s most advisable to visit from July to October if you want to drive on the playa. The advantage of camping at Alvord Desert Hot Springs Campground is that you can use the hot springs whenever you’d like, including sunrise.